Cats purr but need to find claws

By Rohan Connolly

STAND by for a healthy slice of wisdom in hindsight about Geelong's decision to spend the week on the Gold Coast before its game against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba next Sunday.

If Chris Scott's side rebounds from its second straight defeat and keeps its spot on top of the AFL ladder, the week of sun and surf will be hailed as a coaching masterstroke. If the Cats continue to lose, Scott's going to cop it.

There'll be stuff about disruption to routine, the value of players sleeping in their own beds; stuff about it feeling too much like a holiday and not enough like work. You know the drill. But it's already becoming clear the first-year Geelong coach has the confidence to dance to his own tune. And that his measured, thoughtful approach to pretty much everything is for the Cats a huge asset.

Scott certainly wasn't the one pushing the Geelong barrow as it racked up win after win, almost apologetic after his side got over the line in a series of narrow escapes. By the same token, he's not about to turn into a chook with its head cut off because of a couple of narrow losses.

Advertisement

Even when the second loss follows a very similar pattern to the first - Geelong starting well, falling asleep for a very costly half-hour or so, before storming home just a fraction too late to make a difference.

''Our first half was really bad, theirs was really good,'' Scott surmised after the game. ''It's a little bit of a disturbing trend, but I'm not sure whether two weeks is enough to say that. We kicked a few goals early, looked OK and then just didn't do enough to stop their momentum.

''I think they kicked nine straight without us kicking a goal. We'll learn from that and we've got to get better than that, because you can't allow good teams that sort of a run. We left ourselves with way too much to do, but our guys are pretty tough and have great character.

''Even our young players are showing that they play the Geelong way when the chips are down, and the disappointing thing is we just didn't do it enough. If we had have got the game on our terms in the first 60 minutes we would have been fine, but that's easy to say.''

While benefiting from the solid form of his inherited senior players, Scott still has one eye firmly on the bigger picture of generational change for the Cats. To that end, there was plenty to be happy about in Perth, with Allen Christensen again shining when it mattered and Daniel Menzel also making an important contribution after a quiet start.

In the meantime, there's an old Geelong chestnut beginning to present again, that of an underperforming forward set-up.

The Cats had nine more inside 50s than their opponent on Friday night, for three fewer scoring shots. James Podsiadly kicked three goals, but the ''J-Pod'' is a limited conveyance once the ball hits the ground, and key position support is still thin.

That was less of an issue for Geelong when it had a cavalcade of goalkicking midfielders. But there's no longer a Gary Ablett, while Joel Selwood's suspension has placed more onus still on the midfield roles of the likes of Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson.

They are issues, but far from insurmountable for a coach whose determination not only to go his own way but not to throw the baby out with the bathwater has for Geelong been a blessing.

For victors West Coast, meanwhile, the fairytale continues. Even the likes of veteran Mark Nicoski seem genuinely stunned by the level of his side's improvement. But the quantum leap the Eagles have made in terms of their defensive pressure, and the huge weapon their forest of talls has become, has made West Coast far more than a novelty.

Check the Eagles' draw, and there's more cause for fear for those beyond Perth. West Coast has four of its last eight games at home, and three of the others at Etihad Stadium, where it has become increasingly adept. There are none against sides higher on the ladder, and only two against current members of the top eight.

Top four is the promised land for West Coast. It offers the prospect either of a home preliminary final, or at worst a knockout final at home in week two. The first option is a stone's throw from a grand final, and even the second would leave the Eagles warmish favourites to reach at least a preliminary final.

Loading

And speaking of warm, perhaps the last word on the Cats' Gold Coast sojourn goes to veteran Joel Corey.

Asked on Friday night about the wisdom of the expedition, Corey, far from worried about sleeping in his own bed, had but one response: ''Have you seen the weather in Geelong?''